Change Through Contribution

The human race has much to contribute to itself. This is the idea of “cognitive surplus”, defined by Clay Shirky as, “…the ability of the world’s population to volunteer and to contribute and collaborate on large, sometimes global projects.” The human race largely enjoys creating and sharing, either civically, bettering the life of the entire world, or communally, just for other members of a group. This idea is shown through the success of civil organizations such as Wikipedia, an encyclopedia where everyone can contribute to articles, and Ushahidi, which can be used to aggregate information provided by the community to map crises (violence, destruction, etc.) and also by communal pictures such as Lolcats. With the generosity, free time, and media abundance inherent in society today, the collection and collaboration of ideas and talents can change the face of the world. For example, during a week dedicated to raising funds for children with cancer, the teachers at my school volunteered their talents to put on a show where the ticket proceeds went towards bettering the lives of children with cancer. This talent show demonstrates that the collaboration of even a small number of people can positively impact the world. Similarly, my English class could be on the verge of changing education. Many ideas we discuss on a daily basis are directed towards changing how education runs—incorporating technology everywhere possible, letting students direct their own learning, and making the learning, not an “A+”, the focus of school. We have determined that if these ideas were implemented correctly, education could become exponentially better. In addition, I am certain that we are not the only class who has sought to change schooling. Who knows? In the future, my generation could be changing the face of education. With all the ideas and brilliance that my generation has, we could revolutionize the way our children are taught. With the help of technology, human generosity, free time, and media abundance, the world will soon embark on a revolutionary journey that will create, challenge, and improve ideas to create an overwhelmingly better society.

Clay Shirky shares his profound ideas very ingeniously by weaving the ideas into a story. This tactic helps people to remember his speech as one that stood out. His style echoes Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind, which reflects that, “Stories are easier to remember—because in many ways, stories are how we remember.” Many brilliant ideas are shared at TED, but the ones that share an inventive idea along with a story are remembered longer. For my TED Talk, I will aim to find a more personal story than one like Shirky’s, in order to have something that the audience can directly relate to, engaging them even more. I will also be sure to incorporate more interesting visuals that more than just support one point in my speech, but carry great meaning with them, so that they prove the entirety of my speech.

Image: http://www.anticareer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/wikipedia_logo.jpg